Sky-Ship Adventure Series

Book 1

Arthur and Maudie Brightstorm are devastated to learn that their famous explorer father has died in a failed attempt to reach South Polaris, the southernmost point in the world. To make matters worse, the Lontown Geographical Society finds Ernest Brightstorm guilty of sabotaging the expedition of his competitor, Eudora Vane, a respected and powerful member of the Society. But then a mysterious clue leads the twins to question the story they’ve been told. Joining the ragtag crew of the Aurora, a homemade sky-ship captained by the intrepid Harriet Culpepper, Arthur and Maudie race to South Polaris to salvage their family’s reputation. As the sky-ship sets sail, the twins must keep their wits about them if they are to uncover the truth about what happened on their father’s doomed expedition, and to prove themselves worthy explorers. Brightstorm is a propulsive, vividly imagined fantasy adventure set among vibrant landscapes and peopled with dynamic and unforgettable characters.

Book 2

Darkwhispers

by Vashti Hardy

Published 6 March 2020

The ragtag crew of Captain Harriet Culpepper is off on another adventure! Ermitage Wrigglesworth, the notable explorer and author, has been reported missing in Stella Oceanus to the east. Twins Arthur and Maudie are eager to answer the call of adventure to find him, but their old nemesis and newly discovered aunt, Eudora Vane, is also on the hunt. As Lontown’s most famous explorer families set sail aboard their sky-ships, it soon becomes clear that Eudora’s not just after the missing explorer. There’s a secret she’s chasing, something Wrigglesworth had discovered before he vanished, something that definitely shouldn’t be in Eudora Vane’s hands. The Aurora’s crew will have to journey to uncover Wrigglesworth’s secret first, and will discover new lands and new friends along the way. . . .

Return to Vashti Hardy’s “marvelously imagined” world (Publishers Weekly) in this sweeping and propulsive follow up to Brightstorm, hailed by the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books as “a novel of grandeur and action.”